Zenith CH750 CRUZER N820RC

Summary

On 28 October 2022 at about 16:43 local time, a Zenith CH750 CRUZER registered N820RC was involved in an accident near Southington, Ohio, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 October 2022 at 16:43

Classification

Accident

Location

Southington, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Warren (62D)

Coordinates

41.2725, -80.9289

Aircraft

Zenith CH750 CRUZER

Registration

N820RC

Category

Airplane

Year built

2021

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA23FA046

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain proper airspeed while maneuvering in the airport traffic pattern and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at an altitude that was too low to recover.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to another pilot at the airport on the day of the accident, the accident pilot departed with the intention of staying in the traffic pattern. The airport manager reported that the pilot typically took off from the asphalt runway and landed on the turf runway; the pilot at the airport observed the accident airplane take off from the asphalt runway and turn left, consistent with entering left traffic for the turf runway. There were no known witnesses to the accident. The airplane wreckage came to rest on the extended base leg of the traffic pattern for the turf runway, consistent with overshooting the turn to the final leg of the traffic pattern. Examination of the wreckage revealed no preexisting mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The wind at the time of the accident would have resulted in a left quartering tailwind for the base leg of the traffic pattern. Although there was no flight track data for the flight, given the witness statement and the wreckage location, it is likely that the pilot was planning to land on the turf runway. The wreckage location and wind conditions were consistent with the pilot overshooting the final approach leg and entering a cross-controlled aerodynamic stall while trying to return to the final approach path. Therefore, it’s likely that, while maneuvering to align with the runway during the base to final turn, the pilot failed to maintain the proper airspeed, which resulted in the exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack and the airplane entering an aerodynamic stall at an altitude that was too low to recover.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.